The past month was a rather relaxing month mostly chilling at home for both mama and bb but it’s also very fun and adventurous as Junya went on an exploration on a whole new world of foooooood.

So let’s see what happened in the past month!

For Mama

1. Full time mama

After Japan, i took some time off and just relaxed. For the whole month i was mostly working at home (with occasional outings with Junya together) so i feel like i’m a stay-home mom!

I actually really love it and think that even if that means giving up working (since it doesn’t really count as work/career for me) and that’s fine with me too.

Even if that means going to smelly pasar to buy fish lolol.

2. …

I guess that’s all? Being a full time mom also means that there’s nothing happening about you. No drama/gossip for you all here lol. And i love it.

For Baby

Well for baby it’s an entirely different story! Somebody has many things to celebrate!

1. Grew teeth

Teeth hor, not just tooth!

One day as he smiled and i noticed something strange about his gums, and a closer look, there you go!! Two shiny pearls starting to unearth lol. I would miss that tooth less gums, but here’s a toast to that! Not a real toast, (the crispy kind?) though. That’ll have to wait a little longer.

2. Tastebud adventures

Junya started solid at 6 months, and i skipped pureed food altogether (actually just an excuse of my laziness -_-. And i mean, what for buy a blender you would use only like 3 weeks.), and i just gave him really soft foods like porridge and mashed stuff.

He took on to textured food quite well, so very quickly we moved on to mashed potatoes and carrots, crushed beans, tofu, broccoli chunks, small pieces of banana, etc.

He even had natto.

He had a natto dance (if you have seen my Instagram post) the first time he tried it, but now he eats it normally almost everyday. Good to start young haha.

3. Self feeding

We sort of failed at BLW (Baby-Led-Weaning), but who says you must do either or?

I still cannot fathom the idea of plopping a stack of pancakes in front of him and let him figure things out himself XD. But I would like him to know that he could work his little hands to feed himself too, so we do a combination of spoon feeding and self-feeding.

For wet food like congee and soup of course mama feeds him. But during snack time he can has all the fun with baby tidbits!

We bought those Baby Senbei , Baby Wafer and Egg Boro from the Japanese snack section in supermarkets. I got those that says 7-month onwards, which are superb for self-feeding training cuz it’s so easy to hold yet it melts in your mouth. ^^

4. Play with Champon

(Sort of.)

All these while i have separated the two of them (with a play pen. Initially it was to barricade Champon in but now it’s to keep him out of Junya’s play area lolol) because Champon can be really rough and Junya was still too fragile.

But now that he can crawl very well and is more alert, they are allowed short period of play time each day, which… mostly involved in tail-pulling and face-licking XD.

5. Crawl Buffet

Speaking of crawling!

He no longer can stay put in the play area as he would complaint if he’s put inside for too long. It’s incredible how babies nowadays can have 10000000 toys available right in front of them yet they just want to reach for the remote control over the other side of the room -____-.

So Junya is given a “crawl buffet” every day where we get him out of the play time and give him unlimited access to the room (under supervision la).

He is extra happy when he is released to roam free. Sometimes i fear that the pet and the baby conspire and influence each other for the worse -___-.

6. Pull to standing

Claps! He is now no longer satisfied being on the tummy. He forever wants to get up so he’d pull everything that’s in front of him. The cot bars, mama’s leg, mama’s shirt, mama’s face (true story), Champon’s fur…

7. The nom continues…

They know what gets to you. Instead of the one million teethers you get them, it’s your arm that they love.

It’s soooooo ticklish i always let out a squeal and he finds that really, really funny and would laugh mischievously and continue to do it again. Also sometimes when he is not really hungry, during nursing…. i go OUCH, NO! And he would give the same face looking at with tongue sticking out 😛 liddis. -____-

Sometimes i really suspected Champon has given him stealth play-bite lesson while i wasn’t looking. And honestly nowadays the danna and i get it wrong half the time. … “NO, Champon!!….. i mean Junya”. Vice versa.

7. Sunny days

Do you (if you are a mom) know about the app/book “The Wonder Weeks”? It basically is a calendar of the “leaps” (mental developments ) your baby is going through and how it affects their daily mood.

A few weeks before Junya always fusses and cries just before his night sleep, and it can take quite a while for him to eventually go to bed.

But lately he is just all smiles! So i guess he has gone into the “Sunny Mood” now. ^^

It’s just… i mean, i never thought having babies could be so fun. 😛

That’s all, and hope he goes through a happy, stronger and healthier 8th month! Update again next month!

I really like the fact that you are very honest to yourself regarding parenthood. It is so cool to see that you are very chill about guiding and observing your baby! Your child is SO blessed to have a mom like you! *thumbs up* I also think your food art is VERY nice. Is it possible for me to use some of the photos to show to my students?